Canadaian Studies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Canadaian Studies - Assignment Example Although the nation has been doing fine without the law, some quotas have taken advantage of this laxity and have involved in murderous activities in praising the abortion. In the past 11 years of great experimentation without the law, it has been revealed that, although there is no law against abortion, doctors and women have exercised the right to abortion responsibly, without the need for any legal restrictions since their conscience do not allow them to do so (Marshall, 1988). Due to lack of the laws and regulation restricting abortion, Canadian citizens, especially doctors have had a share of difficulties in attempting to deliver accessible abortion services to women in part of the world that illegalizes abortion. Unfortunately, semi-skilled legislators who cannot support the improvement women’s access to safe and legal abortion currently govern some parts of Canada (Marshall, 1988). The access to medical and healthy abortion has also been hindered by bigger size of the country, least populated nation according to its size. This has made it difficult to the country to make available abortion services to Canadian women (Marshall, 1988). Furthermore, the government does not fund several abortions clinics thus forcing women to attend hospitals abortion services. Unfortunately, Canadian hospitals are not the easiest or most reassuring places to acquire an abortion (Marshall, 1988). A second problem resulting from the lack of anti-abortion law is anti-choice harassment and violence to Canadian women and doctors in other parts of the world. For example, three Canadian abortion specialists have been shot dead in the last 5 years, by American terrorist who is anti-abortion. Some of the Canadian citizens especially, women have been deported back to Canada for practicing abortion in cultures and nations that have strict laws limiting abortion. The country also had had poor

The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism - Research Paper Example â€Å"The Sanskrit term ‘mandala’ (dkhyl khor in Tibetan language) literally means circle, both in the sense of a circular diagram and a surrounding retinue† (Powers, 2007, p. 262). In Buddhist vocabulary, the term encompasses both contexts because it refers to circular diagrams that often incorporate illustrations of deities and their environs. Mandalas are a type of tantrik symbol, conveying a domain of sacredness, frequently portraying the celestial palace of a Buddha. They represent underlying philosophies with profound significance in Tibetan Buddhism. The symbols and images in a mandala describe features of the awakened psychophysical personality of the Buddha, and Buddhist themes and concepts (Powers, 2007, p.262). Generally, there are four types of mandalas: two outer mandalas made from powdered colors and created on a flat surface or painted on textiles, those formed in meditation, and the inner mandala depicting the body of the guru/ teacher or that of t he self (Brauen, 1992). Mandala is a Sanskrit word in which ‘manda’ means essence and ‘la’ means container; thus the term translates into a container of essence (Fleming, 2006). The Tibetan term for mandala is ‘dkhyl ‘khor’, with ‘khor’ defined as ‘that which encircles’ and ‘dkhyl’ meaning ‘around a center’; they can be two or three dimensional and constructed of various materials. The sand mandala is believed to have been transmitted to Tibet from India in the eleventh century (Fleming, 2006). Some who have studied the historical nature of the mandala have conjectured that the mandala diagram arose in Tibet or China in ‘pre-lamist’ times (Brauen, 1992). ... Thus, â€Å"the mandala serves as a representation of an awakened mind that is free of all such obstacles† (Powers, 2007, p.263). In the sphere of tantrik practice, it is a powerful symbol of the state that meditators attempt to achieve. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concept of mandala and the different types of mandalas. Their religious and philosophical meaning in Tibetan Buddism will be discussed, with an emphasis on the sand mandala. The Mandala in Tibetan Buddhism The four types of mandalas consist of two outer mandalas which are made from powdered colors or painted on textiles. The third are the mandalas formed in meditation, and finally the body is the fourth form of mandala. A further form of mandala exists in the three-dimensional type, which are difficult to understand because spatiality is the most striking feature of the basic structure of mandalas. The Dharmamandala Sutra conveys the existince of â€Å"gold, silver, shell, ston e, horn, wood and clay, besides those painted on cloth or made of colored powder† (Buddhist Society, 1996, p.160). Three-dimensional mandalas have been discovered in numerous places where Tibetan Buddhism spread, including the Potala in Lhasa where there is a Kalacakra mandala; the Xuguang Ge of Pule Si in Chengde, China; and Zangdog Palri Monastery in Kalimpong, India. The intrinsic three-dimensionality of all mandalas is seen in the depiction of a three dimensional mandala. This is not a Kalacakra mandala, but a Zhi Khro mandala with one hundred and ten peaceful and wrathful deities of the intermediate state known as bar do. These are the deities that appear to the deceased immediately upon entering the sphere of death. Two-dimensional mandalas may either be painted